Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 06-03-14

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] STATE OF EMERGENCY

[02] PAPOULIAS-QADDAFI MEETING

[03] KARAMANLIS TO MEET WITH BELGIAN COUNTERPART

[04] TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS TOMORROW

[05] CHINESE TOURISTS TO MT. OLYMPUS

[06] THE EU SEES NOTABLE PROGRESS IN THE ECONOMY

[01] STATE OF EMERGENCY

Local population along Evros River lives through difficult times as water level has risen as a result of the inflow of large quantities of water from Bulgaria.

A total of 75 houses are flooded in the village of Lavara, and Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Giorgos Kalantzis will visit the affected region today to preside over a meeting in Orestiada.

At Pithion water level monitoring site, water level rose to 6.43m with alarm level at 5.70m, at Kipi waters are at 4.60m with alarm level at 4m, at Petalo the water level is at 6.50m with alarm level at 6m, while the Ardas River water level is at 6.50m with alarm level at 5.20m.

Mayor of Orpheas Evangelos Poulilios told ANA-MPA that the situation is tragic.

The government wants to speed up the payment of compensation to the farmers affected by extreme weather, stated Minister of Rural Development and Food Mr. Basiakos.

[02] PAPOULIAS-QADDAFI MEETING

The meeting of Hellenic Republic President Karolos Papoulias with Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi was held late last night in a warm atmosphere.

The two leaders met for about an hour in the presence of Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis, Deputy Foreign Ministers Evripidis Stylianidis and Yiannis Valinakis and Deputy Minister of Finance Petros Doukas. After the meeting, Mr. Qaddafi gave a formal dinner in honor of the Greek delegation.

The two leaders made no statements afterwards.

Mr. Papoulias in the meeting he had in Tripoli with the Libyan Prime Minister reiterated the will of the Greek side to make further investments in the Libyan oil industry.

[03] KARAMANLIS TO MEET WITH BELGIAN COUNTERPART

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will meet tomorrow at noon with Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt who will be on a working visit to Athens. After the meeting, Prime Minister Karamanlis will give a formal luncheon in honor of his Belgian counterpart.

Earlier in the morning, the prime minister will meet with Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyiannis.

[04] TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS TOMORROW

Commuters using mass transportation in Athens and Thessaloniki will face major problems tomorrow as a result of the 24-hour strike announced by the Greek General Confederation of Labor (GSEE).

Hellenic Railways and Olympic Airlines will also participate in the 24-hour strike. Changes will be made in the OA flight schedule and according to the airline there will be only one domestic flight per destination and one international flight per country.

The Aegean Airlines will fly on schedule with no flight cancellations.

[05] CHINESE TOURISTS TO MT. OLYMPUS

The twinning of Mt. Olympus with the Chinese sacred mountain Tai Shan aims at attracting Chinese tourists who want to see the natural beauty of the region and learn the history of the mountain that was the home of the Gods of ancient Greece.

The twinning of the two mountains will be signed in China and specifically in the city of Taian, at the foot of Mt. Tai Shan, by the mayor of Taian and Pieria Prefect Giorgos Papastergiou.

The Chinese love Greece and welcomed the twinning of the two mountains with great joy. The Shandong province, where the sacred mountain Tai Shan is located, has a population of 92 million and the goal is to attract Chinese tourists to Mt. Olympus and the region's archaeological sites, Mr. Papastergiou told ANA-MPA.

Within the framework of the effort to attract more tourists, the prefecture of Pieria has proceeded with the restoration and expansion of old mountaineer huts on Mt. Olympus while, at the same time, it has launched the construction of three new huts at an altitude of 800m-1,300m.

[06] THE EU SEES NOTABLE PROGRESS IN THE ECONOMY

European Commissioner Joaquin Almunia underlined in Brussels the very significant progress made in Greece's fiscal affairs during the past two years. The European Commissioner, responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs, made the comments in a press conference after the meeting of the Euro-zone Finance Ministers.

Greece was represented in the meeting by Minister of National Economy Giorgos Alogoskoufis and among the issues discussed was the stability program submitted by Greece in December which, in general, received positive reviews.

The positive evaluation of the Greek economy will be formally ratified in the EU Finance Ministers meeting today.

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